Expedition Yacht

We’d like to create a bridge with a smart layout that’s easy to move around and has all the necessary equipment without overdoing it.  Not a bridge for the magazines or to show of to people who have no clue about the subject but a bridge that’s also great to work on at night crossing the English Channel.

So captains, mates and other navigators, please share your thoughts and your experiences to guide us in the right direction for a bridge on this go-anywhere expedition yacht. Continue Reading »

It’s getting easier and easier – and cheaper too – to get Internet service on board. In this section I plan to look at different systems that would allow us to watch TV or check e-mail regardless of where we are.

There are some very affordable systems out there but since we’re too far south, we are outside the footprint of the satellites that cover the US (and where the existence of demand and competition has driven prices down).

We had been investigating products by SeaTel that are sold by Network Innovations. Interesting new developments are the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN).

BGAN delivers broadband mobile office connectivity wherever and whenever it is needed. It supports innovative IP services, as well as traditional circuit-switched voice and ISDN data.

Which system is best? Depends the usage. BGAN’s entry cost are a fraction of a SeaTel system but with each extra MB of traffic costing around USD 6, longterm, and again, depending on who pays the bills, it may be cheaper to have a SeaTel or similar system.

But all this became academic when KVH introduced its MiniVSAT system.    Faster, more affordable and smaller antennas any Inmarsat based system.

Although the current onboard navigatin equipment list is impressive, some of it is over 15 years old and it shows.

We’re still in the planning stage but we’ll definitely give the bridge a big overhaul. New will be navigation and monitoring systems by FreeTechnics. If you plan to overhaul your bridge, don’t look further. Their stuff is not only cool, it works too. And it’s affordable! Check out their site. We’ll get some new radios, like the Icom digital SSB M802 or the M710. The IC-M502 – VHF Marine Transceiver is also on our list.

Transits through the Panama Canal require a AIS transponder. The Furuno FA-150 would do the job but we’re looking for a seriously cheaper alternative like the AIS-CTRX . Not sure yet if we need a class A or class B transponder.

We also like the Maretron WSO 100 weather station and are looking into equipment of Mierij Meteo.

Maretron also has a gyro electric solid state compass. Like its wheather station, it’s NMEA 2000 compatible.

At any case, we’ll need some expert help like that of highly recommended DAB Marine Services in the Netherlands to figure out what we should keep and what to replace and equally important, how to distribute all the equipment on the panel.

Below a list of our current equipment. This file in PDF shows several pictures.

1 Sait navtex, type NAV 5
1 Trimble satcom-C installatie, type Galaxy Sentinel
1 Koden echolood, type CVS 8811
1 Koden echolood, type CVS 801

1 Observator gyrorepeater
1 Furuno radar F1530
1 Decca radar
1 Decca automatische pilot, type 450
1 Sailor marifoon, type RT 2047
1 Sailor DSC marifoon, type C4901
1 Loran, type LRX 322

2 Furuno GPS receivers, type GP 80
1 Unider scanner, type UBC 6500 XCT
1 Compu 2000 scanner
1 Kenwood receiver, type R 2000
1 Skanti SSB radio, type WR 6000
1 gyrocompas, type SR 220
1 Tron sart
1 Tron eprib, type 40S
1 navigation computer system, type Quoodfish 310
1 compass
1 Nera Mini-M sateliettelefoon